Toronto's large Italian community had fear in their hearts Monday as they waited for news of loved ones caught in the area around the earthquake-stricken city of L'Aquila, Italy.
The quake, which registered a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale was felt as far as Rome, which is located about 110 kilometres southwest of L'Aquila. It struck at about 3:30 a.m. local time.
Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said more than 150 people are dead and about 1,500 injured. An Italian newspaper is reporting more than 250 people are missing. Some reports suggest that at least 10,000 buildings have been damaged, leaving tens of thousands homeless in the mountainous area.
Berlusconi has declared a state of emergency.
L'Aquila, capital of the Abruzzo region, is a city that has existed for more than 800 years and is home to much priceless heritage architecture. An estimated 75,000 people in the GTA have roots in that region of Italy. Many of them keep close ties with the old country.
In Woodbridge, travel agent Frank Ventresca said he reached one friend's cellphone. "They were dead asleep. They ended up on their bed in the rubble. They live on the third floor. The wall caved in and it probably was their saving grace, because had it not of moved, the rest of the building would have collapsed on them."
Many restaurants and bars in the Little Italy business strip along College Street have been showing coverage Italian news stations to their patrons.
Livio Balzamo, a Toronto resident who gathered at a Little Italy restaurant to watch the news coverage, told CTV Toronto that his uncle survived the earthquake.
"I asked, 'How was it?' and he said the bed started moving, things started shaking. His first reaction was to grab the kids and run outside," he said.
Rocco Maranga said his cousins in the quake zone are safe. "They are now helping each other," he said.
Canadians who are looking for information on friends and family who may have been caught in Italy's earthquake region can call the emergency operations centre at Foreign Affairs at 1-800-387-3124 or 1-613-996-8885.
The department can also be reached by email at sos@international.gc.ca. Please provide officials with the name of the person you are trying to reach as well as any other pertinent information such as their age and address. Don't forget to leave your contact information so that someone can get back to you.
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said there have been no immediate reports of any Canadian deaths or injuries as a result of the earthquake.
The Italian-Canadian Credit Union has two branches in Toronto and one in Woodbridge. It is accepting donations.
""There's tremendous emotion and we're trying translate that emotion and passion into some sort of plan," Pal Di Iulio, head of Toronto-based Villa Charities, said Monday.
With a report from CTV Toronto's John Musselman and files from The Canadian Press
